1. Field of the Invention
The principles of the present invention relate generally to an improved telecommunications system, and in particular, to an improved configuration of a telecommunications system for wireless communications. Still more particularly, the principles of the present invention relate to a universal near field self-configuring femtocell, and method and computer usable program product for using said universal femtocell.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wireless communication devices, such as with a wireless phone or a cellular phone, utilize a communication network comprising antenna towers. An antenna tower is a radio frequency antenna mounted on a tower, or other mounting structure, such as a side of a building. An antenna tower sends and receives wireless signals to and from a wireless communication device to facilitate wireless communication. The antenna tower includes equipment called Base Transceiver Station (BTS) that uses the antenna tower for facilitating radio communication with wireless communication devices. The BTS communicates with other equipment on a wireless carrier's network to facilitate communications.
A wireless communication device has to be in proximity of an antenna tower to use the wireless communication services of a wireless carrier. Power of the BTS and the design of the wireless network determine the distance from the antenna tower at which a wireless communication device can establish communication with the antenna tower. A wireless carrier/service provider plans the locations of antenna towers such that radio communications between wireless communication devices and the antenna tower covers an intended area. The area within a coverage region that is covered by a particular antenna tower is called a cell. Generally, the cell design is intended to provide coverage at all locations within each cell. However, as consumers of wireless services are familiar, areas within a cell called dead zones can experience limited or no coverage, resulting in failed or interrupted wireless communication, or wireless communication of less than desirable quality.
As a solution to these problems, wireless carriers configure smaller cells within a cell's dead zone. For example, wireless carriers may install a pico cell or a femtocell, which is a radio communications device that improves cellular coverage in the dead zones. A femtocell includes the functionality of a BTS, an antenna tower, and certain other equipment in the wireless communication network. In essence, a femtocell is miniature self-contained antenna tower that utilizes an Internet connection to provide the backhaul connection.
Currently, the location and configuration of a femtocell is carrier determined so that the particular femtocell may operate on the wireless carrier's wireless communication network. Femtocells should not be confused with wireless access points that utilize wireless LAN technologies such as IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n (i.e., Wi-Fi® technology) because femtocells are configured to operate using the same frequency and protocols as the macro wireless carrier networks. In addition, femtocells participate in the wireless carriers coverage plans, including identifying other nearby towers, adjusting their transmit power requirements accordingly, and performing inter-tower call hand-off.
To enable a user to configure a femtocell according to the user's choice of location and the user's choice of wireless carrier, the illustrative embodiments provide a universal near-field self-configuring femtocell that may be placed and configured in accordance with a user desired location and carrier network.